Secret Agent
by justanoutlaw
Summary: Neal's been keeping secrets, and Emma's determined to find out what's going on.


**Prompted by mystical-flute: "Stop acting like you know everything. You don't." - Prince Neal & Emma**

**Takes place post-series, Neal is 16.**

Emma was town sheriff. If something was up, it was her job to know what was going on and to make sure that it got solved right away.

Sometimes, she had issues leaving work at work, however.

After her divorce, she moved back in with her parents, bringing Hope with her. She needed to get back to her roots and remember what she had set out on her journey for long ago: to find family. Just as her journey in Storybrooke had started, a few months turned into a few years and soon, she had been living with her parents for quite some time. They didn't mind, of course. They loved living together under one roof. Neal adored his little niece, he'd read stories to her and was more like a big brother figure than an uncle, much like Henry had been to him.

Overall, Neal was a really good kid. He stayed out of trouble, loved reading (he'd go to the library and come home with a huge pile of books, only to go back a few days later for more) and was amazing when it came to swimming. He was also super family oriented, as it showed when it came to his little niece. His favorite person in the whole world was probably his aunt Regina and he told Emma just about every secret he had (he was Snow's son after all, they didn't say "secrets" very long).

Then when Neal was 16 and Hope was 8, Emma noticed that her little brother was acting a bit differently. For a kid who couldn't keep secrets, he was sure trying a hell of a lot harder. Neal would tell their parents that he was hanging out with his boyfriend but then Emma would see Phillip downtown with some of his football buddies. Other times, he'd say he had extra swim practice and that would turn out to be a lie. Only Emma was turning these up and she decided not to tell their parents yet, knowing they'd worry and she didn't want to get her younger brother in trouble right away. She could get to the bottom of it one way or another. Confronting Phillip would potentially embarrass Neal or even make his brother's boyfriend fear the worst, so she didn't want to do that either. No, she'd have to come up with something else.

So, on her day off, Emma borrowed Ruby's Camaro under the guise that her bug was broken down and drove over to the high school. She watched her brother get into their dad's old truck (a gift for his 16th birthday) before pulling out of the lot. According to Snow and David, he had "plans with Phillip", but Phillip was nowhere to be seen. She trailed three cars length behind (a trick from her bail bondsman days) and followed him as he drove over the town line, which was weird.

Neal drove into a nearby town, going into a neighborhood which wasn't the greatest. He parked his car at the parking lot of a rundown building, stopping the engine in the back. Emma got out of the Camaro and followed closely behind him.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Neal jumped, putting his hand over his chest, his blue eyes going wild. "Jesus Christ, Emma! What the hell!"

"What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question! Did you follow me?"

"That's irrelevant. This isn't the safest area. Are you doing drugs? Going to a rave?"

Neal rolled his eyes. "Yes, because raves are at 3 o'clock in Bangor on a Tuesday afternoon." He was on his way to catching his breath, but clearly becoming more pissed off. "Why would you follow me?"

"Because you've clearly been lying to Mom and Dad, and they haven't realized it yet."

"Well good for me then."

"This isn't funny, Neal. You're a good kid. You have your whole life ahead of you and I don't want to see you throwing it away."

Neal let out a laugh, shaking his head. "Stop acting like you know everything. You don't."

He lead her through the back of the building and down the corridor, before opening one of two doors. Children sat lined up at lunch tables with other teenagers Neal's age, some older along with adults. Books, worksheets, pens, pencils and crayons were about. Emma tilted her head.

"What is this place?"

"It's a tutoring center," Neal explained. "A lot of these kids don't have homework help so the city has a place for them to go. They hire people like me and the rest of the staff to come."

"Oh." Emma's frown turned into a smile. "So, all this time…you've been helping disadvantage kids with homework?"

"And study for tests, get projects done, that sort of thing."

"Why didn't you just say that?"

"Because I've been saving up for some stuff, like a dollhouse for Hope for her birthday. She's been talking about this one she saw in the window of Geppetto's shop." Emma put her hand over her mouth, touched. "And I knew if I said, that Mom and Dad would just insist on giving me the money to buy it, but I wanted to earn it myself."

"I get that, I do," she said, honestly. "Mom and Dad are extremely generous, I felt uncomfortable about it at first too, especially from where I came from. But just talk to them about it. They'll understand."

Neal scratched the back of his neck. "You think?"

"I really do."

Neal looked from the kids, back to Emma. "I'll think about it."

She nodded, then sighed. "Only you, at 16, would have a secret that you're tutoring disadvantage youth."

"What can I say," Neal said with a smirk, as he headed over to the kids. "We are the Charmings after all."


End file.
